New Delhi, May 6: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today pounded away at the performance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than once echoing Arun Shourie who had tormented Rajiv Gandhi almost daily during the Bofors scandal.

"Let me ask what is the reality of the achchhe din the Prime Minister promised? Lower petrol prices? We all know they are because of falling international prices, over which they have no control and for which they deserve no credit," Sonia told a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

The same point was made by Shourie while speaking to Karan Thapar on Headlines Today last week.

"... many of these items he (finance minister Arun Jaitley) has enumerated, the credit is not for this government. Oil prices coming down, all other commodity prices coming down - that has helped. So the task of leadership is to appropriate failure and distribute success. Here it is the opposite," Shourie had said in a withering appraisal of Modi's first year in power.

There was little to indicate that Sonia had found inspiration in the comments of Shourie - whose crusade on the Bofors scandal is considered the main reason why the Rajiv-led Congress lost its way in the latter part of the 1980s and eventually lost the general election. Rather, it could be that both were echoing voices they had picked up from the ground.

If Shourie seemed to suggest that the new government is not swift enough in launching institutional reforms, Sonia's thrust was on the pet themes of the Congress.

Rahul Gandhi kept up the attacks outside the House, dwelling on his mother's themes and repeating his " suit-boot ki sarkar (the government of the suited and booted)" jibe.

Addressing the CPP meeting, Sonia referred to Modi's foreign tours, his alleged anti-farmer and pro-corporate policies, centralisation of power and communal rhetoric.

In the Lok Sabha, she slammed the Prime Minister for keeping vacant key constitutional posts, such as those of the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) and the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).

Shourie had also touched upon this issue in his interview: "Institutions are being starved to death when appointments are not being done."

Addressing party MPs in the Parliament complex, Sonia said "for the first time, a Prime Minister of India has decided to play domestic politics on foreign soil".

"Modi attacked the UPA and his distinguished predecessor (Manmohan Singh) on a visit to France. In Canada, he sank to a new low by referring to the UPA in despicable terms. This outrageous remark on foreign soil belittles the dignity of the office he holds and is an embarrassment to the nation. Such petty behaviour does not define us."

Later, an unusually acerbic Sonia went on to say "this government deserves credit for defining democracy" and later used the phrase "give credit" to explain every alleged failure of the government.

"It is no longer 'of the people, by the people, for the people' but a government of some people, by one person, for a select few. Behind the smokescreen of development, the government is providing achchhe din (good days) only for crony capitalists. Under the pretext of 'Make in India', the government is planning to dilute the rights and interests of workers and labourers."

At one point, she asked: "What do they deserve credit (for)?"

Then she answered the question herself, saying the Centre "deserved credit for bringing the most "anti-farmer" legislation, the land acquisition bill, and threatening livelihoods of millions of handloom weavers and artisans, apart from various other reasons.

The Congress chief reeled off a list of alleged failures. "There is no substantial economic achievement.... Job creation has slowed down, investment in manufacturing is falling, exports have declined. The hypocrisy and insensitivity of this government are breathtaking. The Prime Minister announces grandiose schemes to grab the headlines and the finance minister denies adequate funds. But he announces a generous bonanza for the corporate; tax cuts amounting to Rs 250,000 crore in the next four years."

Shourie had also said: "They are managing headlines. Unfortunately, there is too much focus on managing headlines with regard to the economy and that is going to rebound."

Sonia slammed Modi's alleged attempt to "centralise" powers. "They deserve credit for creating the most centralised government in India's recent history. Ministers hardly matter. Even bureaucrats, who are supposedly empowered, feel paralysed because all key files are pending in the PMO."

Sonia alleged that government bodies were being packed with men and women whose "sole qualification appears to be loyalty to the Prime Minister or his patron organisations".

The Congress chief then alluded to growing communal tension in the country in recent months. "We can give them credit for transforming our nation into a land where every day we hear of places of worship of minorities being desecrated. Incendiary remarks are often uttered, even by ministers, against entire communities and institutions of our democracy.... Yes, we can give them credit for making Indians feel unsafe in India and for poisoning the political discourse of our great country."

Again, a Shourie parallel. Asked whether the Prime Minister needed to speak up more to address concerns among minorities, Shourie had said: "If Modi tweets on Sania Mirza's victory and wishing on somebody's birthday and then he doesn't say a word on critical issues like Ghar Wapsi, churches and love jihad, it will draw an inference."

The government denied the charges made by Sonia and Rahul. Minister of state in the PMO, Jitendra Singh blamed the vacancies on legal and procedural reasons.

He said the CVC post fell vacant on September 28, 2014, and the process of appointing a new chief was on when a Supreme Court directive came. The Congress contested the assertion, saying the court hadn't prevented the government from appointing the CVC.

On the CIC, Singh said the Centre sought greater transparency by advertising the post and the process of selection was nearing completion.

On the Lokpal, the delay was caused by the absence of a leader of Opposition, Singh said, adding the government had to amend the law to include the leader of the largest Opposition party.

In the Lokpal, the jurist member's term had not been fixed in the bill, requiring another amendment. After this, Singh said, the bill was sent to the standing committee.